Spicy Biscuits With Parmesan Cheese

If you're in need of snacks for champagne time, you've come to the right place. These spicy biscuits with parmesan cheese served warm from the oven with an ice-cold glass of bubbly are DIVINE.

Champagne is my favourite aperitif (French for an alcoholic drink served before a meal) and these savoury cheese biscuits are the perfect match for it. And who doesn't love aperitif snacks? The nutty parmesan cheese flavour is warmed with some subtle chilli powder and an aromatic kick from nigella and sesame seeds.

To make these spicy biscuits we mix butter and parmesan cheese together before adding flour, spices and baking powder to make a dough ready to be sliced up and popped on a baking tray. Read on for the full recipe and method.

These spicy biscuits work really well as a small snack before a meal. The best thing about them is that you can make the dough in advance and freeze it, ready to slice up and bake at a moments notice if the mood takes you. If you're a savoury snack fan like me they work well as part of a spread with other pieces like samosas.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top tip
• Variations and substitutions
• Spicy biscuits with parmesan cheese

Ingredients

• Parmesan cheese
• All purpose flour
• Unsalted butter (preferably organic and grass fed)
• Chilli powder
• Garlic powder
• Baking powder
• Nigella seeds
• Sesame seeds
• Egg
• Salt and pepper

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Soften the butter and mix it with the grated parmesan, and separately mix the flour, baking powder, chilli and garlic powder and salt and pepper. Then combine the two mixtures and work it into a dough.

Form and then roll it into a long sausage shape, then wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 165 C / 325 F

Take the dough out of the fridge and brush it with an egg wash before rolling it in the sesame and nigella seeds to form a crust.

Slice the dough into thin disks and place on a greased baking tray.

Bake the spicy biscuits in the oven for 10-15 minutes until they have risen slight and are golden brown in colour.

Remove them from the oven and leave them to harden up for 10 minutes before serving them still warm.

Hint: You can also bake them and reheat them later.

Equipment

Use a shallow sided baking dish for these cheesy biscuits to avoid too much steam getting around them.

Storage

Store any leftovers in an airtight container, they'll last a few days.

You can make the dough in advance though and store in the freezer until ready to bake. Increase the cooking time to 20 minutes but keep an eye on them so they don't burn.

Top tip

Don't use spreadable butter, I know it's tempting as it is already soft enough to mix in...but it just won't hold the dough together properly.

Variations and substitutions

Why not try playing with the spice levels in these cheesy biscuits, or adding some other aromatic flavours like caraway seeds to the crust? They're so easy to make and are great to have in the freezer ready to whip out and serve as party food.